Ship drive mechanism



March 25, 1958 J. M. HATZl SHIP DRIVE MECHANISM Filed June so, 1954 wmmmwsh Q Y R m m 1H .4 J o u Y .m w 3 B w g R Uni-ted S ates Patent sHIPDRIVE MECHANISM Application June 30, 1954, Serial No. 440,443

1 Claim. (Cl. 115-24) This invention relates to means for propellingships and boats and particularly to a ship drive mechanism.

The main object of my invention is to provide a ship with special drivemechanism that is readily controlled by the operator and also directlydriven by him, with special emphasis on small boats classified with rowboats and the like.

Another object is to have a boat equipped with propulsion means operatedpreferably by the feet of the operator, together with means fornavigating the boat at will.

It is a special object of this invention to provide an improvement overmy Patent No. 1,705,402 granted to me on March 12, 1929.

A practical object is, of course to increase elfective operation of thedrive mechanism, simplify construction and render driving'of a boatcertain and as easy as possible.

Another practical object is to have such a drive mechanism that issimple to make and low in cost in order to encourage wide distributionon the market.

A practical object is further to improve the speed and lightness of thedrive especially adapted for rescue boats, etc.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear in greaterdetail as the specification proceeds.

In order to facilitate ready comprehension of this invention for aproper appreciation of the salient features of the same, the inventionis illustrated on the accompanying drawing forming part hereof, and inwhich:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a boat equipped with a drivemechanism made according to the invention and embodying the same in apractical form;

Figure 2 is a top or plan view of the same boat with portions removed toclarify the showing of the propulsion apparatus;

Figure 3 is a plan view of part of the drive mechanism to illustrate thearrangement thereof;

Figure 4 is an elevation of a free wheeling detail;

Figure 5 is a similar elevation of another drive detail.

Throughout the views, the same reference numerals indicate the same orlike parts.

On an ordinary row boat, and especially on a canoe, it requires specialskill to row or paddle the craft prop erly, but even at best, all of thework is done by the arms and hands, despite the fact that any operatorof a boat has greater power in his legs than in the arms. While somedevices have been proposed for using the feet to drive a boat, it hasoccurred to me that in order to obtain the greatest possible benefitfrom foot power propulsion, together with manual co-operation and alsonavigation, certain means could well be included to rest the feet insuch fashion that no energy is wasted but will be applied to drive theboat directly in the most convenient manner possible. As a result, Ihave succeeded in providing a boat with a mechanical drive along thelines already indicated, as will now be set forth in detail in thefollowing.

Hence, in the practice of my invention, and referring also again to thedrawing, a boat hull, generally indicated at 6 has abottom 7 and rearend 8, as well as a pivotally mounted rudder 9 manipulated by the leveror tiller 10. On the bottom 7 is fixed an upright transverse partitionwall 11 supporting a rear seat 12 beneath which the main mechanism ofthe invention is housed. In rear wall 8 is a bearing 13 for a propellershaft 14 having a propeller fixed upon the outer end which extendsthrough end wall into the water, while upon the inner end is secured abevel gear 15 for receiving driving impulse to rotate the shaft andpropeller 16. A pair of transversely aligned bearings 17, 18 are alsofixed on bottom 7 and support a shaft 19 provided near one end with alarge bevel gear 20 meshing with gear 15 on the propeller shaft.

The bevel gear 20 also meshes with another bevel gear 21 fixed on therear end of a third shaft 22 supported in two bearings 23 and 24 mountedon boat bottom 7, the front end of shaft 22 likewise having a furtherbevel gear'25 fixed thereon. Intermediate bearings 23 and 24, the thirdshaft 22 has a speed governor 26 mounted thereon for determining themaximum speed at which this shaft is to rotate. r

A fourth transverse shaft 27 is mounted to rotate in a pair of furtherbearings 28, 28 also fixed on bottom 7, the shaft carrying a final bevelgear 29 meshing with gear 24 of shaft 22 and also a clutch member 30further shown in Figures 4 and 5 from opposite sides. Upon this clutchmember are peripheral sprocket teeth 31 fixed on a ring 32 havinginternal one way ratchet teeth 33, while the clutch member carries aplurality of pawls 34, 34 engaging with the ratchet teeth with springs35, 35 urging the pawls out into contact with the mentioned ratchetteeth. The clutch is thus free wheeling in one direction and willpositively drive the ring 32 and its sprocket teeth in the otherdirection so as to transmit rotation of the ring to the clutch andthereby to shaft 27 and gear 30, and this in turn ultimately causesrotation of propeller 16.

The sprocket is driven by a chain 36 that runs from a forward sprocket37 having a stud shaft 38 rotatable in a bearing 39, while opposite thishearing is a similar bearing 40 rotatably supporting another stud shaft41 having a disk 42 secured thereon within the latter bearing. Betweendisk 42 and the sprocket 37 is fixed a crank pin 43 to which a drive rod44 is connected. Upon the partition wall 11 is fixed a bearing 45 uponwhich is pivotally mounted a hand lever 46 with a handle 47 surmountingthe same to form a hand grip. At the lower end, hand lever 46 ispivotally connected to the forward end of rod 44, so that rocking motionof the lever will produce a back and forth movement of the crank rod 44and rotation of the disk 42 and sprocket 37 which together with crankpin 43 form a crank, as described.

At the lower end of the hand lever is also a connection 48 with a link49 extending rearwardly and having a pedal cross piece 50 secured uponits rear end. Upon the boat bottom are fixed a pair of substantiallyhorizontal channels having elongated slots 52 therein, the channels 51forming rails for a pair of rollers 52a, 52a mounted on the cross piece50 within these channels so as to provide friction free forward andbackward travel of the cross piece 50, this latter member extending outin opposite directions through the slots in the channels, intoconvenient position to be engaged by both feet of an operator whoperhaps sits on the locker or seat 12 and also grasps the ends of crosspiece or handle 47 and operates the hand lever 46 to co-operate with hisfeet in causing the crank 37, 42 and 43 to rotate and drive thepropeller 14 through the various gears and clutch already menview ofth-e indies ion of the clutch withiits ratchet and pawl construction,the propeller will be rotated in only one direction -:and may continueto rotate even when the hand and foot power operation is temporarilystopped' becanse the shaft 2?;with gears--30, 25, 21 ,20 and 15 maystill rotate independently-bf any stationary condition of chain 36 ,1sprocket 37 and the levers and links 46, 'Mand 49, etc;

Inorder to steer the boat by rudder 9 the leveron the same is connecteddirectly to a vertic'al's'haft 55 guided by a'pair of bearing-s54 and 55fastened to rear end 8 of the boat. "The lower -endof therudder-isprovided with a pivot pin 56 'centeringin a bearing 57allso'secu-red to the-rear end of-theboat and allowing the'ru dde r tobe turned by-lever10. To therear-end ofthis *leveris secured a cable 58that runs to arpa'ir of spaced apart ptilleys or rollers 59, '59monirted on the lower-portion 'of the boat, preferably on the:hottomflhe two lengths 6.0,

then extending forward to connect with the two steering levers 62,63mounted movably in a pair of independent tom, said section forming therear seat of said boat, said drive comprising-a support bearing apropeller shaft upon its outer end, a first bevel gear on its inner endenmeshed with a second larger bevel gear mounted on an independentshaft, said larger gear meshing with a third bevel gear of similar sizefixed on one end of a shaft mounted on the boat bottom and having afourth bevel gear at the other end thereof; a speed governorintermediate said gears, said fourth bevel gearameshing with a fifthgear mounted on a shaft bearing a free-wheeling one way clutch assembly;said assembly j-ha'ving a peripheralrow of teeth fixed on aring-with'nne' way ratchet teeth element and ta plwali-ty tofoping-actuated pawl engaging with said ratchet teeth, a sprocket 'onsaid assembly for V 61 entering these pulleys at the lowest possihlelevl and 1 bearingst64, 65 fixed on bottom-7. "These steering levers 1are located so near the foot cross piece 5'0'and hand lever 46' as to bewithin easy reach of thebperators feet during driving of the-boat andpropulsionby the propeller, pressure on either lever turning therudderin corresponding direction.

Manifestly, variations may be resorted to; and'parts 1 and features mayhe modified or'nsed without others within the scope of the appendedclaim; r Having now fully described my invention, '1 -claim'i A drivemechanism for a boat adapted toqbe honsed under the section formed inpart ;by the bottom'of said boat and by an upright transverse'parti'tionon 'said bottransmitting rotation to said --clutch and propeller shaft,a chain from said sprocket to a forward sprocket, a crank pin connectingsaid forward sprocket to a disk mounted on; a bearing, a drive rodconnected to said crank pin, a hand lever mounted on said partitionwall, pivotally connected to said drive rod a link connected to said lever having a pedal cross pi'ece', a pair of horizontal c-ross channelsmounted on the bottom of said boat having elongated slots 'thereiniform'ing rails for rollers mounted on said cross piece to providefrictionless, motion of the same, said 'cros s piece being movable bythe feet of an operator sitting .on said se'at 'and said lever operable"by hand. e

References Cited in the file of this patent 2248, 930 Allen July 15,1941

